


In the Shadow of the Colossi

by Gloomier



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Established Relationship, Fluff, Foreshadowing, Humor, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Silver Bunny Bilbo, Silver Fox Thorin, a dab of angst, but sort of if you squint, so much sap okay, that's Hare thank you very much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-05
Updated: 2017-05-05
Packaged: 2018-10-28 11:16:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10830156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gloomier/pseuds/Gloomier
Summary: Shadows are reaching out from the dark places of Middle Earth and the decision to resettle Khazad-dûm weighs heavily on Bilbo. He seeks out solace to think on it only to get caught mid brood by the King of Brooding himself.(or: Bilbo is sad and Thorin is sappy and they're bothquitesilver)





	In the Shadow of the Colossi

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all haven't forgotten our Silver Fox and Silver ~~Bunny~~ Hare! In the tradition of hobbit birthdays, this is my gift to all of you! 
> 
> For the sake of having all the important facts... This takes place a year before Balin leaves for Moria which canonically happens in T.A. 2989. Bilbo is 98 years old and it'll be (give or take) 47 since BotFA. (crossing my fingers that I did all my math right)

**May 6th T.A. 2988 - Ravenhill, Erebor**

Eleven days.

Not even two weeks and already the good mood brought on by the anniversary of an unexpected party was spirited away. Normally such a trifle wouldn’t bother him; holidays and parties were there, then gone as soon as you recovered-so it goes.

The day started off properly: a wonderful lay-in with Thorin followed by a sumptuous breakfast, newly arrived mail from the Shire in accompaniment. Then the morning assembly happened, and now he was taking a page out of Thorin’s book.

It hurt Bilbo’s ego to say but… he was _brooding._

“Khashâm ganagifôn 'uglakhul ya zull mi binzull!”

_And_ he was caught in the act!

Bilbo’s eyes shut as he sighed heavily, keeping them shut even as Thorin covered the distance between them. He only meant to pop up to send his replies off to the Shire and steal a private few moments for himself.

Blast and bebother it all!

“So this is where you’ve been. We were suppose to have lunch together, or did you forget?” Thorin asked, finally reaching the bench where Bilbo was doing his brooding.

“I _may_ have forgotten. No, we are _not_ competing for the most forgetful,” Bilbo snapped, cracking an eye open to half-heartedly glare at his cheeky husband before him. “And if you push it, y _ou will lose.”_

Thorin grinned, though his lips twitched-clearly tempted to prod the boundaries of Bilbo’s exasperation. The years of peace since Erebor’s successful reclamation, forty-six years if he did his numbers right - and he did because that’s how long he’s been married to the lump (and he wasn’t likely to ever forget) - have done Thorin Oakenshield some much needed good. Though, some would argue it’s done _too much_ good on account of Thorin becoming more mischievous than their two nephews combined.

By all that is green and good, his husband looked glorious with silvery hair.

“You’re staring again, my love,” Thorin huffed amusedly, his mischievous grin melting into a thoughtful smile.

Once upon a time Bilbo would have been embarrassed to be caught staring at Thorin, but marriage had its perks, such as gawking at Thorin whenever it pleased him-which meant it happened all the time. Honestly, Bilbo loved admiring the physical change that occurred in tandem with the mental one over forty-six years. Thorin’s shorn beard had regrown, it was quite long and obscenely soft these days; Bilbo took great pleasure in running his fingers through it as he helped Thorin with the braids. Thorin also gained a very respectable pudge once Bilbo was able to not only cook for him, but convince his husband to add a few extra meals to his diet. Best of all, _all_ of Thorin’s hair had gone completely silver and the dwarf looked absolutely fetching. Thanks to Fíli and Kíli, Thorin had also gained the epithet Silver Fox, which was all well and good right up until the two brats began referring to Bilbo as the Silver Hare.

“Can you blame me?” Bilbo quipped smartly.

Bilbo released his hands from his lap, holding them out to Thorin who gently gripped them in turn, and heaved himself up off the bench. Instead of releasing him, Thorin tugged Bilbo the rest of the way into his arms, holding his husband close.

“Of course not. According to you I am quite lovely, possibly the loveliest in all the lands, and I could never hope to be paid a higher compliment, especially from such an esteemed hobbit,” Thorin said, punctuating his sappy arrogance with a kiss to Bilbo’s cheek.

“I suppose in your dotage Óin’s selective, and imaginative, hearing has finally begun to rub off on you, because I distinctly remember saying that ‘ _while you are quite lovely, your looks and charm can’t completely hide what a troublesome cretin you are most of the time,’”_ Bilbo groused with an answering kiss of his own as Thorin’s laughter quaked through the both of them.

“I’m older than Óin, Dearest,” Thorin said sulkily while Bilbo snickered at him.

They dropped into comfortable silence then, Bilbo resting his head against Thorin’s chest while Thorin swayed them both to some silent tune.

“Have I told you that I love you?” Bilbo asked, letting himself fall into a light doze listening to the steady beating of Thorin’s heart.

He could feel more than hear Thorin’s thoughtful hum.

“You tell me so before we leave the bed in the morning, and after we turn in for the evening. You make sure to say it no less than five times after we’ve had an argument, and at least ten if you have to leave the mountain, even if it’s just to Dale for a few hours. You also say it whenever we get a chance to speak privately; but today my husband you have been very distracted, so you’ve only said it once.”

There was no hurt or anger in Thorin’s unexpectedly detailed answer; Bilbo felt nothing but unadulterated love while Thorin nosed through his silvery hair, but that didn’t stop his eyes from misting over or prevent the mild case of sniffles. To be honest, Bilbo felt a bit guilty that he’d all but forgotten to tell Thorin ‘I love you’. He’d only just remembered, and the forgetfulness was the reason why Thorin was never allowed to brood.

“I love you.”

“I know.” Thorin said as he carefully peeled Bilbo away from his chest, “I’m afraid that, even if you told me you no longer loved me I would still love you, you’re stuck with me,” he chuckled, slipping a hand through soft, silvery hair to curl around the back of Bilbo’s neck, “I still have your love even if you forget to tell me so because you’re _brooding.”_

Bilbo groaned loudly; it was a miserable sound coated generously with exasperation, eliciting another rumble of laughter from Thorin.

Thorin caressed Bilbo’s warm skin with his thumb, coaxing Bilbo to hold his stare. The one thing Bilbo loved most about his husband was how much emotion Thorin managed to convey with his eyes; even now his gaze remained tender while gaining solemnity. “Tell me, how can I ease your burden? You only have to name it and I will see it done, masaddazulmuzm zigilê.”

If he weren’t so frazzled Bilbo would have quite a few disparaging things to say about _that_ phrase, probably terrorize Fíli and Kíli with some sort of prolonged hobbit revenge, but damn him for marrying such a wonderful person.

“Convince Balin not to take his expedition to Khazad-Dûm,” he pleaded.

And that was the crux of Bilbo’s brooding.

The quest for Erebor had been an insane venture: no army, no plan and one completely inexperienced hobbit burglar against the world (and he was still _very_ displeased with Gandalf). His dwarves deserved to have their home returned to them and their family and the rest of their people; but hope can be dangerous as well as awe-inspiring, especially for a people who have lost many homes and many people. He and the company had shown up to Erebor hoping to find a dead dragon, who wasn’t so dead as it turned out. Balin’s appeal to the assembly of lords to take an expedition to Khazad-Dûm, to establish an outpost - hoping to one day to retake the lost city - made it sound like he was expecting the same of Durin’s Bane. Bilbo was doubtful that the orcs that inhabited the ruined city just picked up and shoved off either.

Thorin seemed to share a similar view; his gravely fond expression morphed into a pained grimace.

“It’s been on Balin’s mind for a while, but I will do my best to disabuse him of the notion,” Thorin promised, planting a kiss on Bilbo’s worry-creased forehead. “We succeeded where many thought we would be going to our deaths, so it will be no simple task.”

“Perhaps if you and Dwalin both corner him… the brute has become increasingly grumpier since this morning,” Bilbo sighed, tucking back into the safety and warmth of Thorin’s chest. “I have a terrible feeling, Thorin, and I can’t bear to watch Balin go.”

Thorin held him snugly against his chest, and Bilbo made a good effort to soak up some of Thorin’s strength as his husband rubbed a hand soothingly up and down his back.

“Did you only come to find me to complain about a missed lunch?” Bilbo asked after he had calmed down some.

“Mostly to complain because a hobbit promised me blackberry cobbler to go with lunch and I still haven’t received it,” Thorin said with mock hurt, earning him a pinch to his side for the effort. “But also because I was thinking that maybe it’s time to consider retirement.”

“Dwarves! Always thinking about- _What?”_ Bilbo was gearing up to rant about the rampant sweet-tooth of dwarves and now they were back at serious again! _Ridiculous._ “Retirement? Is this because of Balin?”

“What? No. No, even that took me by surprise,” Thorin floundered, “it’s just something I was thinking about. It would be nice, is all.”

“And whose smial do you plan on invading once you retire?” Bilbo questioned, leaving his Thorin cocoon to arch an silvery eyebrow at his husband. He was finding it very difficult to keep a straight face with the sad puppy eyes Thorin was using.

“Maybe those cousins of yours, Drogo and Primula. I’m sure they won’t mind a dwarf invasion, their boy Frodo seems keen on having a dwarf in the house.”

“Oh, ho! It seems you have it all planned out then, just be sure to send a letter first. I’m sure Fíli would not mind me sitting on the throne in the interim - until he’s good and ready to take it up or I turn to dust!” Bilbo did giggle then, unable to hold back the tide of his mirth in the face of Thorin’s moping expression.

“I was hoping my hobbity husband would go with me,” Thorin pouted.

“Perhaps, perhaps. But there is still time to talk about-” Bilbo’s stomach chose that moment to gurgle loudly. With all his brooding, Thorin’s sappiness and the serious talk, Bilbo had become quite famished and his stomach was ready to rebel. “There’s still time to talk about retirement, perhaps after tea? We can grab Dwalin on the way out, he’s been brooding out here with me.”

Bilbo was already attempting to unlatch himself from Thorin when instead of letting him go, the dratted troublemaker held him in place.

“Aye, but first things first,” Thorin murmured as he leaned down to place a real kiss on Bilbo’s lips.

Kissing Thorin would never get old, even as he continued to age, so Bilbo stole a few more, whispering ‘I love you’s into Thorin’s lips.

Balin’s decision to leave still deeply pained him, but Bilbo felt like he could suffer any hurt so long as Thorin stood at his side.

**Author's Note:**

> Khuzdul (thanks to the dwarrowscholar):
> 
> Khashâm ganagifôn 'uglakhul ya zull mi binzull. - Worries go down better with ale than without. (Common expression from Erebor - If you are going to worry anyway, you might as well drink and worry.)
> 
> masaddazulmuzm zigilê - my silver rabbit 
> 
> ~
> 
> Thanks so much to [Airebellah](http://airebellah.tumblr.com/) for giving this a read through!
> 
>  
> 
> [My Tumblr](https://tea-blitz.tumblr.com/)


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